NEPTUNAS FAILED TO BREAK INTO THE EUROLEAGUE TOP-16 STAGE

Four victories in the Euroleague was not sufficient for Neptunas to enter into the Top-16 stage. The basketball players, coached by Kazys Maksvytis, lost to the European Cup winners, the local Valencia Basket team in the last and crucial match of the first Euroleague round in Spain with the score of 103:65.

A victory by Pireaus Olympiakos (Greece) over Istanbul Galatasaray (Turkey) would've opened the route to the Top-16 stage for the Neptunites, but this scenario was not favourable to Neptunas: the Turks celebrated the victory with the score of 79:74.

So, Neptunas says good-bye to the Euroleague, and they will continue their matches in the EuroCup competition after the New Year.

We would like to remind you that Neptunas played solidly and exceeded many people's expectations in the most prestigious European basketball tournament - in the Euroleague: on 13 October they beat Valencia Basket (Spain) with the score of 94:87 at the Svyturys arena, the Neptunites triumphed three times at the Svyturys arena: they beat previous two season's Serbian Cup winners, the Beograd Crvena Zvezda Telekom team with the score of 83:81 on 23 October, the Vitoria Laboral Kutxa team (Spain) with the score of 80:79 on 20 November, the 11 time Turkish champions, Istanbul Galatasaray, where the Lithuanian national basketball team member, Martynas Pocius, plays, with the score of 82:72 on 10 December.

The Lithuanian vice-champions, Neptunas from Klaipeda, were very close to the largest sensation in the Euroleague this season on 31 October - they were on the verge of defeating one of the most titled teams of the tournament - Piraeus Olympiakos. The Euroleague champions of 1997, 2012 and 2013 won against the basketball players from Neptunas only in overtime with the score of 85:81 (17:15, 21:15, 17:25, 21:21, 9:5).

The Neptunites were a whisker away from the Top-16 stage. The victory against Olympiakos, which slipped from their hands during the last seconds, would've guarantee a ticket to the Top 16 stage. Anyway, we need to praise the players of Neptunas for their fighting spirit and a really nice debut in the Euroleague.